Volume 20 • 6

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by Matt sieger

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Fashion icons Ralph Lauren, Donna Karan, Calvin Klein and Judith Leiber are all Jewish. But it’s noaccident that Jewish people are so entwined (pardon the pun) in the fashion industry. In this edition

we highlight the history of Jews and fashion, share the stories of two women (one now arebbetzin) who worked in the industry, and examine the very first “fall” fashion.

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ISSN 0741-0352 PRINTED IN THE U.S.A. ©2014EDITOR IN CHIEF: SUSAN PERLMAN EDITOR: MATT SIEGERFASHION EDITOR: ARIELLE ROTHBARDDESIGN AND ILLUSTRATION: PAIGE SAUNDERSJOIN US AT FACEBOOK.COM/ISSUESMAG

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Who is Ralph Rueben Lifshitz? Maybe you know himbetter as Ralph Lauren, head of a multi-billion dollar

empire that designs everything from sportswear to homefurnishings to fragrances.

Lauren’s success served as inspiration for a flood of otherJewish designers in the United States after World War II,including Anne Klein, Diane von Furstenberg and Calvin Klein.

Since the late 1800s Jewish Americans have been involvedin all aspects of clothing, including sweatshops,manufacturing, advertising, department stores—and design.By 1897, around 60 percent of the New York Jewish laborforce was working in the apparel field, and 75 percent ofemployees in the industry were Jewish.1

But why the marriage between Jews and the garmentindustry? And how did the people of the Book get involved infashion?

Unlike other religions in the Middle Ages, Judaism requiredits followers to be literate in order to read the Torah. This meantthat Jews were uniquely qualified to work at higher-payingurban jobs.2 By the seventh century, many Jews had left theirfarms and moved to cities to become craftsmen, artisans,merchants and moneylenders. In Europe, czars and emperorsbarred Jews from owning land, so our people had to work astailors, peddlers or bankers. As they fled Europe in greatnumbers for the United States in the mid- and late- nineteenth

century, the Jewish people and clothing entered into aserendipitous relationship.

The Perfect MatchPrior to the Civil War, Americans generally wore

homemade clothes, sewn by hand. But when Isaac Singer andother inventors won patents for the sewing machine in themid-1800s, mass production of clothes was on the horizon.

“To come to New York City [in particular, the Lower EastSide of Manhattan] in the 1890s with a background indressmaking or sewing or Schnittwaren Handlung [piecegoods] was a stroke of extraordinary good fortune,” writesMalcolm Gladwell. “It was like showing up in Silicon Valley in1986 with ten thousand hours of computer programmingalready under your belt.”3

The first Jewish fashion success story occurred yearsbefore. In 1870, a woman ordered a pair of work pants fromJacob (Youphes) Davis for her large-framed husband, who keptsplitting the pockets and seams of his trousers. Using the 10-ounce duck twill he had purchased from Levi Strauss’s drygoods store in San Francisco and some copper rivets, Davisinvented the 501 jean. He then partnered with Strauss to massproduce the quintessential American garment.

As schmatte chic designer Levi Okunov notes, “We wereslaves, a bunch of peasants coming off boats, people were

Jews and Fashion by Matt Sieger

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ISSUES is a forum of several Messianic Jewish viewpoints. The author alone, where the author’s name is given, is responsible for the statements expressed. Those wishing to takeexception or wishing to enter into dialogue with one of these authors may write the publishers and letters will be forwarded. Email: editor@issuesmag.org • jewsforjesus.org

1. Gerald Sorin, A Time for Building: The Third Migration, 1880–1920,The Jewish People in America series (Baltimore, MD: The Johns HopkinsUniversity Press, 1992), p. 74.

2. Steven E. Landsburg, “Why Jews Don’t Farm,” Slate, June 13, 2003,http://www.slate.com/articles/arts/everyday_economics/2003/06/why_jews_dont_farm.html

3. Malcolm Gladwell, Outliers, The Story of Success (New York: BackBay Books, 2011), p. 158.

4. Ibid.

5. Johanna Newman, “From Ghetto to Glamour: How American JewsToppled Paris Couture and Redesigned the Fashion Industry,”http://www.momentmag.com/from-ghetto-to-glamour/

6. Ibid.7. Newman, op. cit.8. Hannah Drefyus, “This Fashion Week, Dress Modestly While Staying

Stylish,” http://www.tabletmag.com/scroll/162656/this-fashion-week-dress-modestly-while-staying-stylish

starving and trying to do general factory work . . . and then itbecame a little more glamorous.”4

In the twentieth century, notes journalist Alana Newhouse,Jews “used their knowledge of the garment industry to polevault themselves into high fashion.”5 A few Jewish designersbecame well-known in the 1930s, such as Adrian (AdrianAdolph Greenberg), Hattie Carnegie (Henrietta Kanangeiser)and Sally Milgrim.

But after World War II, when there was a relaxation of theold dress code and a celebration of the good life, Jewish (andother) designers really took off.6 In the post-war suburbanaffluence, styles shifted from the practical to the moreluxurious, in part through Jewish designers such as JudithLeiber, Donna Karan, and Kenneth Cole.7

Today, there is fashion that is distinctively Jewish,especially among the Orthodox. Jessica Guggenheim, fashioneditor of Hadar Magazine, notes that there is a trend towardmodesty in dress: “I think modest dressing lends any womanan air of sophistication. I think modestly dressed women

command more respect; they use their minds rather thansexuality to get things done.” She sees no contradiction indressing modestly while maintaining a unique sense offashion: “Honestly, I don’t think dressing modestly and uniqueis hard,” says Guggehheim. “Just be yourself and whateveryou wear walk with your back straight and your head up.”8

As Arielle Rothbard (see “The High Holy Days of Fashion”)notes, “There are well-known fashion icons and bloggers who areJewish and use their Jewish sense of humor to instruct others inthe way of street style—modest or not. Leandra Medine (of ManRepeller fame) and Iris Apfel are among this select group.”

Susan Salzman (see “Meet the Highly FashionableRebbitzin”), who worked in the fashion industry for manyyears, feels that although fashion can have purpose, fashionfor fashion’s sake is valid as well. “Fashion is beautiful,”she says. “It becomes vanity when the beauty becomes ouremphasis.”

And hold that thought as you read our next article, “DoClothes Make the Man or Woman?” g

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Whether or not we admit it, fashion is a part of all ourlives. According to a 2010 study by the Bureau of

Economic Analysis, the average U.S. consumer spendsapproximately $1,700 a year on clothes (the global apparelmarket was worth $1.7 trillion in 2012). 1 If money speaks,American dollars are loudly proclaiming that what we weardoes, in fact, matter.

Appearance mattered, even back in the day of the prophetSamuel. When Samuel went to the house of Jesse to anointIsrael’s next king, he was taken in by appearances. Inspectingthe elder brothers of the future King David, Samuel wasimpressed by their looks and thought that surely, the futureking must be one of them. But he was wrong:

But the LORD said to Samuel, “Do not look on hisappearance or on the height of his stature, because Ihave rejected him. For the LORD sees not as man sees:man looks on the outward appearance, butthe LORD looks on the heart.” (1 Samuel 16:7)

No matter what a person wears, to the Almighty, hautecouture is irrelevant. All are naked before the God of theuniverse. The Scriptures also tell us that each one of us hasinherited a consciousness of wrongdoing, and that our gooddeeds can’t take that away. Even the prophet Isaiah used aclothing motif: “We have all become like one who is unclean,and all our righteous deeds are like a polluted garment. Weall fade like a leaf, and our iniquities, like the wind, take usaway” (Isaiah 64:6).

If good deeds won’t cover up our faults, our style of dress(however impressive) certainly won’t. It began at creation. Inthe Garden of Eden, the first man and woman were literally

naked before God and unashamed. But when they ate theforbidden fruit, something changed: “Then the eyes of bothwere opened, and they knew that they were naked. And theysewed fig leaves together and made themselves loincloths”(Genesis 3:7).

The First “Fall” FashionAdam and Eve realized they had disobeyed God, and now

felt shame in their nakedness before each other and beforeHim. As Bible commentator Matthew Henry put it, “They werestripped, deprived of all [their] honours and joys . . . they felt adisorder in their own spirits of which they had never beforebeen conscious.” From the beginning, our problem has beeninternal, not external. The moment Adam and Eve disobeyed,they were disrobed of their glory and right-ness with God. Wehave sought to “cover” ourselves ever since.

God replaced the first couple’s loincloths with higher-endfabric—animal skins (Genesis 3:21). The sacrifice of thoseanimals to clothe them foreshadowed the ultimate sacrificeGod would provide to fully clothe us and restore us to arelationship with Himself. The prophet Daniel predicted that“an anointed one [Messiah] shall be cut off” in order “tofinish the transgression, to put an end to sin, and to atone foriniquity, to bring in everlasting righteousness” (Daniel 9:26,24). Could that anointed one who was cut off (killed) beYeshua (Jesus), who, according to the New Covenant (NewTestament), died for our sins?

When our sins are covered, we are “clothed” with God’srighteousness, as the prophet Isaiah declared:

I will greatly rejoice in the Lord;my soul shall exult in my God,

Do Clothes Make the Man (or Woman)? by Elizabeth Troolines

for he has clothed me with the garments of salvation;he has covered me with the robe of righteousness,as a bridegroom decks himself like a priest with abeautiful headdress, and as a bride adorns herself withher jewels. (Isaiah 61:10)

In his Sermon on the Mount, Yeshua said this aboutclothing:

“Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life,what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about yourbody, what you will put on. Is not life more than food,and the body more than clothing? . . . And why are youanxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field,how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tellyou, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like

one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of thefield, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown intothe oven, will he not much more clothe you . . .”(Matthew 6:25, 28–30)

He then concluded, “But seek first the kingdom of God andhis righteousness, and all these things will be added to you”(Matthew 6:33).

Yes, God cares about our clothing, but probably not to thedegree that Calvin Klein, Marc Jacobs and Donna Karan do.But in our inner lives, He wants us to choose substance overstyle—to enter into a relationship with Him through theultimate kipporah (covering), His Messiah.g

1. The Next Black, AEG, 2014,http://tailoredtechies.com/2014/05/22/the-next-black-documentary/

Every so often, some specific stars align. Most recentlythey overlapped last fall. Its providence is debatable.

Because of the Jewish calendar, New York Fashion Week andRosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, can find themselvestangled together in a ball of devotion and duty.

For those of us who have sat through High Holiday services,it might come as a surprise that there are actually some of ourpeople out there who choose to forego Fashion Week events inexchange for these select seats of a different style. It’s nice tohear of people sacrificing and firmly backing their beliefs—awe-inducing, even, with the glimmer of success and luxury astemptation. With mental shelves full of industry connections

and the new collections that hype up each year, these tribemembers are going to temple, sticking to tradition over trends.Some even genuinely smile. With ruby red lips and fall trends,they’re sure to make a good impression. Choosing the HebrewBible after consulting Vogue’s. Nice.

I’m grateful that for most of my life this was never adecision I had to make. I grew up and was bat mitzvah atMessianic congregation Beth Messiah in Livingston, NewJersey, a suburb of New York. And while I’m not necessarily upthere on the star-studded totem pole of Jewish FashionInstitute of Technology (FIT) alums—those include MichaelKors and Calvin Klein—I always had

The High Holy Days of Fashion by Arielle Rothbard

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off for the Jewish New Year and Yom Kippur, the Day ofAtonement. Consequently, I went with my family to services.

My first full year out of school, though, fresh at a new jobin fashion as an account executive, things were different. Onthat Yom Kippur I made the poor choice of going to the office. Iwas the newest, youngest hire at a Madison Avenue-basedvisual marketing firm. It boasts clients like Louis Vuitton andBulgari. As a designer, account sales didn’t seem to beclicking. That day in particular I got chewed out by my boss’swife. On a very empty stomach, I might add. I had never evendared to ask if I could leave early to join my extended familyon Long Island for our break fast. But when my boss heard Icould have been there with family, he happily excused me.Let’s just say I can identify with not being “a good Jew” by thetypical standards. My Jewish heritage means more to me thanentry to an Alexander McQueen show, but sometimes Iwrongly put my own interests ahead of God or family.Honestly, at times everyone deals with this clash of interests.Pretty or not, we fashion our lives to suit ourselves.

A few weeks shy of eighteen years old, I was about toleave the downy lining of suburban New Jersey to begin mydesign studies. I was finally ready. It had been a rathertumultuous year, as I had grappled internally with core truthsthat I had accepted since childhood. My outwardly normal, tri-state area Jewish family had one oversized inconsistency incomparison to the majority of our neighbors. My sister and Igrew up accepting Yeshua (Jesus) as the tailored fit for allmessianic prophecy in Hebrew Scripture. In fact, over Rosh

Hashanah 1998, several days after my eighth birthday, I haddecided for myself that my parent’s faith was substantive andthat I wanted it. It had the weight I needed. I wanted thesurety and covering of Jesus’ perfection to hide and restore myflawed self. His promises were bold and certain.

I started doubting this assurance halfway through highschool when my nine-, eight-, seven-, and five-year-oldcousins, ragged and malnourished, appeared quite literally onour front steps. They were victims of their parents’ addictions.The sixteen months that ensued toted much stress andstretching to match. Ultimately, the kids were able to returnhome, but the transition was hideous and completely out ofmy hands. In their wake, I sauntered into my senior year ofhigh school with a deep sense of loss and failure. It had beennine years exactly since that personally notable Jewish yearoccurred, and the beginning of my walk with God seemed asfar away as Eden. The loss I felt certainly was not patched upwith the pile of postmodern literature that awaited me on bothEnglish and French class syllabi. If anything, the uncertaintyand unhappiness evident in that writing further threw me froma place of confidence in God. First I doubted His goodness,then His sovereignty, then His existence. I was miserable,masked in a façade of art projects, home design store workafter school and college preparations.

What ultimately occurred was that—after about fourmiserable months—I reached out and, in what had become adaily occurring tear hurricane, asked God to meet me if Hewas really there. He instantly wrapped me with peace, and I

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Susan Salzman, now the rebbetzin at Beth MessiahCongregation in Livingston, New Jersey, once worked in

the heart of the fashion industry in New York City. As a productdeveloper and trend forecaster for Ralph Lauren in the 1990s,she worked directly with Ralph’s older brother, Jerry, inmenswear. She rubbed shoulders with famous models,including Tyson Beckford and Claudia Schiffer.

“I always worked with good companies and goodpeople,” she says. “I was challenged in my work and got totravel. It was exciting and adventurous, but I felt the sameway about my spiritual activities. I also wanted to getmarried and have kids.”

Now, at Beth Messiah, Susan leads a weekly prayer groupand is the Shabbat school coordinator for the elementary, pre-

teen and teenaged groups. She and her husband, the RabbiIrving Salzman, have two children, Jacob, 14, and Shira, 11.Jacob was bar mitzvah last November.

Beth Messiah is a Messianic Jewish congregation. Irvingattended a Lubavitcher Hasidim yeshiva as a youngster andadopted an observant lifestyle. He trained to become a Torahreader and cantor. Then, as a young man, he came to know abeliever in Yeshua (Jesus) who challenged him to examine theprophecies regarding the promised Messiah in the HebrewScriptures. Over time, Irving became convinced that Yeshuawas that Messiah. Although he continued as leader in thesynagogue, he found himself drawn to Yeshua and eventuallydecided to follow him.

Susan’s background is quite different

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knew that I could finally release to Him the pain and distrust Ihad felt for so long. I could renew the faith I had had yearsearlier. I could prepare with joy and creativity for the path thatawaited me in Manhattan. I looked forward to what He couldand would do with my life. That fall, which, if I remembercorrectly, included a lot of purple and plaid, was one of themost energetic and exciting seasons of change with which Ihave ever been blessed. The freshness of the city, the JewishNew Year and school year were perfectly layered by a masterdesigner. He has sustained me through my whole adult life. Ican see how His stitching my life together has created beautyand purpose out of otherwise rough materials. He has been

faithful to me, and He has been faithful to my people, Israel.He truly is in control.

God is not exclusive to a people or a place. He loves Hiscreation, and He has loved us since before fig leaves and skinswere the first street style. God has always made a way toknow Him and be forgiven by Him, whether or not we’ve keptor choose to keep ourselves 100 percent kosher.

This year, whether you find yourself on a pew at yourlocal synagogue, in the limelight of paparazzi cameras inLincoln Center, around family, or even alone on a parkbench, may you come to know the shalom of God throughHis Son, Yeshua. g

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Meet the Highly Fashionable Rebbetzin by Matt Sieger

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from her husband’s. She is a fourth-generation Messianic Jew.Her grandfather, Isaac Levy Finestone, led a Messianic Jewishfellowship in New Jersey for many years. The youngest ofthree children, Susan grew up in a Jesus-believing home witha Jewish mother and gentile father.

“I distinctly remember Passover seders with my grandparents,”says Susan. “My grandfather prayed extremely long prayers. Mygrandmother’s handmade sponge cake was a highlight.

“We had monthly Bible studies in our home when we wereyoung. At each meeting, a Jewish person would tell how he orshe came to believe in Jesus. Many had been rejected anddisowned, but still came to faith. They had such love despitetheir hardships. Seeing their joy and peace helped my faith tocome alive.”

By age seven, she had committed her life to Yeshua—butnot without an internal struggle.

“Early on I knew I could get away with things with myparents,” Susan explains. “But I knew God would see what Idid, so I couldn’t hide. I felt a battle going on inside of me. Iwanted to live my life for myself, and I understood thatfollowing Yeshua would mean coming under his authority.Eventually I felt I should no longer put it off. I felt the weight ofmy own sin. I didn’t want to die without having accepted himright then when I had the opportunity.”

Raised in New Jersey, Susan went on to attend SyracuseUniversity in upstate New York, where she double majored inmarketing and retail. After graduating in 1985, she worked asa buyer for women’s dresses at J.C. Penney, then did sales in a

high-end Italian gloves showroom. After developing menswearfor department stores’ private labels, she moved on to productdevelopment for Ralph Lauren’s men’s outerwear.

“Fashion always fascinated me,” says Susan. “To me it ispart artistic, part practical.”

When asked if fashion design conflicts with devotion toGod, Susan responds, “God is the creator of beauty. Fashion isabout enjoying beauty and creativity. It’s fun and exciting. Iappreciate the creativity of fashion design. Fashion is fantasticas long as its purpose is good and godly.”

Susan says that although her Jewishness didn’t directlyrelate to her career in fashion, she came in contact with a lotof Jewish people in the industry. And she shared her faith inYeshua with those who were open enough to discuss it. Butthere were those who didn’t want to talk about it.

“It was a comfortable place to be as a Jewish person,”Susan says, “but not necessarily as a Jewish believer inJesus.”

But, she says, telling others about Yeshua, whether as afashion design worker, a rebbetzin, or a friend and neighbor, issomething that flows out of her relationship with the God ofAbraham, Isaac and Jacob.

“My Jewish identity is very precious to me,” she says. “Itis a joy to celebrate Jewish holidays and remember what Godhas done for my people. It is a natural expression of my faith,as a Jewish person, to believe in the Messiah, Yeshua.”1 g

1. http://beth-messiah.org/meet-the-rabbi.html

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Watch an interview with two fashion mavens, David Strull and Leigh Sieger, enjoy anentertaining video about the high priest’s clothing, view a unique photo of Jews for Jesusfounder Moishe Rosen modeling the high priest's attire, and see our other special fashionfeatures at http://j4j.co/2006shoutout

What do a devout Orthodox Jew, a drug dealer, and a female cantor all have in common?Check out ShoutOut to find out. Jewish journeys of faith, streaming now atjewsforjesus.org/shoutout